Don’t be the person who lives in a crowded apartment complex and doesn’t call 911 when someone’s getting mugged in the courtyard…because you think someone else already has.

I’d love to hear some of your tales of sourcing. What works and what doesn’t when working to get new customers?

I’ve been going to the same Chinese restaurant for the last 4 years. It’s been satisfactory. The food is decent, they provide fast & friendly service and I’ve never had any food items missing from an order. I’m relatively easy to please. I’ve been satisfied and haven’t looked any further when I want Chinese food, locally…until recently.

A friend of mine was told about a new (er) Chinese restaurant (they also serve Japanese and Thai) and how great the food was. She decided to try the new joint. She thought the food was great. She told me about the food, but added that the service wasn’t that great. There was a long wait for certain things and the restaurant was out of rice for sushi.

I, too, decided to try out the new place while disregarding the complaints about the service.

I immediately went online to find their website. Nope, not there. I did, however, find a few directory listings with their contact info (but no menu and no link to a website) – so I called. I asked if they had a website so I could take a look at their menu and order. The woman on the phone said they didn’t have a website because they just opened (7 months ago). Couldn’t send by email either – so I had to drive the 2 miles to grab a menu. STRIKE 1. I ordered from the parking lot to see how long it would take…50 minutes!!! STRIKE 2. I left to run a couple of errands, came back after 50 minutes and still had to wait another 20 minutes. FOUL TIP IN THE DIRT. The owner was very apologetic, though, and assured me this long of a wait was a freak occurrence. I told him not to worry about it and went on my merry way. I got home and was missing a few things…OUCH! STRIKE 3. The situation was laughable at this point. I went back, got what was missing and received another sincere apology.

My wife and I had ordered a few different things to figure out what was good. The fact was everything we ordered was fantastic. Now after the 3rd strike, many people might give up on this business. But, I’m very laid back and always give people the benefit of the doubt (especially when the food is so damned good). I wasn’t ravenous on this particular day (another factor that kept my head cool).

We’ve gone back to order from the same place again. The only problem this time was that we had to wait for some rolls because the sushi rice wasn’t thawed (totally forgivable because the restaurant was dead between normal lunch and dinner times).

I wrote this to get your opinion.

1. As a customer, how many times do you forgive and forget AND what are the most important factors when it comes to your decision to revisit a restaurant (or any other business)?

2. As a business, when do you stop making excuses AND when do you get prepared enough to live up to your own hype/promises? How many customers do you have to lose? How many potential customers have you already lost?

I was in a bit of a hard place because I worked for my last W-2 employer for about 3 months ending in January ‘09 and got screwed in regard to benefits. I was supposed to get benefits right away and there seemed to be a lot of “miscommunication” between the company and the HR agency they outsourced the payroll and benefits to. Thus, I didn’t even have the option of getting continued COBRA coverage. If you’re currently working or recently quit, got laid off or fired and were insured, be sure you look in to your options regarding COBRA.

When I began looking around for health insurance, the first thing was to meet with my local, independent insurance agent. The premium coverage was in the neighborhood of $600 to $700 per month for a male, 29, and female, 28, but we couldn’t qualify for that because I take medication for hypertension and cholesterol. It didn’t really matter. We couldn’t afford it anyway. The next best insurance we could find was around $200 to $400 per month with relatively high deductibles. For the time being, we’ve decided to forgo the health insurance and pay for doctor’s visits out of pocket.

If you are in good health and seriously considering purchasing health insurance, remember to figure out how much you’re actually spending on medical bills. I called our doctor and basic office visits only cost between $50 to $60. If you’re earning a comfy living, you may be able to budget for medical expenses throughout the year. If you’re worried about major accidents or unexpected ailments, look into some higher deductible coverages. If you plan on having children be sure to ask how long you need to be on an insurance plan before they will cover a pregnancy. A really good first step is to check with an independent insurance agent in your area. They should be able to answer a lot of these questions. Ask for an in-person appointment and ask a lot of questions.

One of the best things I’ve found so far has been the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. I take 3 different medications. Without insurance and without this discount card my prescriptions would cost about $340 per month. With the discount card I pay $132 (and some change) per month. Walgreens is the most convenient for me, but it might be a good idea to check with your pharmacists at Target, Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, your local pharmacy, your insurance agent, etc. to see what other plans are available.

A possible alternative for some would be to look into part-time workplaces that offer benefits. It’s important to do your research here, too. Investigate which insurance company the employer uses, how long you have to work before you can earn the benefits, etc.

Here are a few sources I’m currently looking into:

Freelancers Union (freelancersunion.org): Free to Join Membership Organization Offering a Variety of Benefits to its Freelancing Community

FreelanceSwitch (freelanceswitch.com): Health Insurance for Freelancers

American Pregnancy Association (americanpregnancy.org): Article on Health Insurance for Pregnant Women

If you take any Pfizer drugs: Pfizer launches free prescription program for those who lose their jobs

Please do not view this as an all-inclusive guide to health insurance for those looking for health insurance coverage. I know there are many things to take into consideration like age, weight and current medical conditions to name a few. If anyone can chime in about the ideas and resources I’ve talked about or can make additional information recommendation, PLEASE contribute down in the comments below this article. I know there are many people out there who would love to gather more information about this topic (myself included).